Is It Real?

This week I was having a conversation with a couple of classmates in a coaching class I am taking. It was a demo where I was being coached while one of my classmates was the coach. The intention is to help us get more comfortable coaching and to apply what we have learned.

When we had finished our trial run, the three of us were debriefing how it went. One big realization was that giving voice to an idea to someone outside your spouse gives it more validity.

When it is just something you and your spouse talk about that is one thing, but when you openly talk about that idea with other people (strangers even) it becomes a little bit more real.

It reminded me of a scene in a television show my wife and I watch frequently where the main character is torn between two potential suitors. This particular scene involved flowers being left at her doorstep. The entire episode was about figuring out which suitor left them.

The problem was that the main character is a widow with a young baby, and she wasn't certain she wanted to be courted by anyone yet.

While confiding all this to her best friend, she said, “...that would make it real.”

We do this in our own life. Especially in our Christian walk. Especially when it comes to sharing our faith in Jesus with other people.

We hesitate to voice our beliefs. We believe in our hearts but will not verbalize it nor step out in baptism because we are scared. Not that baptism or evangelism is required for salvation.

But it makes it real!

Greg Stier of Dare 2 Share Ministries is big on teenagers sharing their faith at school, on their sports teams, in their workplaces with their friends because it requires those teens to put some skin in the game.

It makes it real!

Jesus commanded His disciples to go and make disciples in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth. Doing that would make their faith and witness real!

Paul reminds the Church in Rome, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

We are all guilty of withholding our thoughts, beliefs, and faith because we are scared of how other people may respond.

They may say we are not capable. Our idea is bad. Our idea is too big – impossible to actually accomplish.

Whatever the reason, we keep it to ourselves. And sometimes, we are even ashamed of having the idea in the first place.

However, when we finally give voice to it – it becomes real!

When you actually wear your faith in Jesus Christ proudly, boldly, and unashamedly – maybe even acknowledging your faith out loud, with words, in public – it becomes a little more real!

So, you ready to be real?

Anyway, I was just thinking...

[SPOILER: The flowers were not left by either suitor. Her best friend left them.]